Beshear Asks For Disaster Declaration

Posted: Fri 10:29 AM, Sep 19, 2008&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Fri 5:11 PM, Sep 19, 2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Gov. Steve Beshear said Friday he was asking for federal disaster relief to help cover a growing tab to clean up from the strong winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ike that battered Kentucky nearly a week ago.

More than 120,000 people remained without electricity as crews kept working around the clock to restore power knocked out Sunday.

Beshear said he was confident Kentucky would qualify for federal assistance and called it "the worst storm of its kind on record in Kentucky."

"I'm hopeful that we are beginning to see some light at the end of this long, dark tunnel," Beshear told reporters in Louisville, which was hardest hit by the power outages in Kentucky.

Wind gusts peaked at 75 mph at Louisville's main airport and in western Kentucky. The high winds were blamed for the death of a 10-year-old Shelby County boy struck by a large limb while mowing.

Meanwhile, a Louisville woman's death is under investigation as possible carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator found in her home. Dozens of others were treated for exposure to carbon monoxidefumes.

In one sign that life was returning to normal, local public school officials announced that classes would resume Monday in Louisville after a weeklong disruption. Meanwhile, there were no ill effects at Valhalla Golf Club near Louisville, where play opened Friday in the Ryder Cup.

By gaining a presidential disaster declaration, state and local governments could seek reimbursement for up to 75 percent of costs to remove debris, repair public infrastructure and provide emergency protection, Beshear said. State and local governments each would shoulder 12.5 percent of those costs.

The federal government requires a $5 million threshold in public damage to qualify, officials said.

"We have reached and exceeded that threshold," Beshear said.

Meanwhile, Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., said he was pushing congressional leaders to include Louisville in a separate disaster-relief package being considered by Congress.

As the power outage dragged on, some storm-weary residents chosea Red Cross shelter over their homes.

"It's been kind of tortuous," said Lee Hayes, whose family took refuge at an American Red Cross shelter in downtown Louisville after roughing it at home for several nights.

Hayes' family coped most of the week by driving to Fort Knox to eat with friends, then returning home for the night, where they relied on flashlights.

They spent Thursday night in the shelter after Hayes and his wife, Maria, spent four fitful nights at home without power for the machines that treat their sleep apnea.

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